This was an odd book that was thought provoking and somewhat convoluted. I liked the premise of this horror sci-fi book, but it got too complicated and was hard to follow at times. All of the main characters gave me toxic relationship vibes.

Space horror is my favourite genre at the moment and I was so intrigued by this one because LOOK AT THAT COVER!!!! Unfortunately, This World is Not Yours was awful. The characters were terrible and we spend most of the book following their marriage and relationship drama, and the horror element only played a tiny part. I really didn't get on with this and I'm so sad about it!

For such a short book, it took awfully long to get going. None of the characters were particularly appealing--either in a negative or positive manner. I was expecting more horror and less ennui.

SciFi horror with both societal and environmental horror which didn’t quite get explored enough for me.

This started out feeling more like a series of snapshots of the characters’ lives rather than continuous chapters. For me, that made it a bit harder to get into it, and it started out as a slow read for me, but then it sped up really quickly and I finished 80% of the book in a single sitting.

I was instantly intrigued by the characters. Vinh and Amara are <i>messy.</i> My god. They treat each other so badly but they just can’t stay away from each other. But the book isn’t just about the couple, but also about Jesse, their close friend – and something is clearly up with him. “Toxic polycule” really fits them all well.

While the planetary/environmental horror of the Grey, a strange “fog” that mercilessly disassembles anything it deems harmful to the planet that humanity is trying to colonize, is always in the background, a lot of the book focusses more of the every-day horror or human relationships, jealousy and hurt feelings. In addition, some societal horror is added due to the measures the colony takes after disaster strikes.

I wanted more from all of these horror aspects. When one is prominent, the others pretty much get forgotten, but even when the focus is on one of them it never goes particularly deep. I especially wanted more from the Grey. Most of the Grey happens in chapters from Jesse’s POV, but we pretty much never get any answers about the whats and whys of what’s going on between him and the Grey. And I really wanted answers, as I found those chapters the most intriguing!

Overall I wanted more from this, but I also understand that this is a novella that can’t explore things the same way as a full length novel could. Maybe a longer format would have worked better for the story, but at the same time, I’m happy the jealousy didn’t get that much more time to be explored because I don’t enjoy reading about it that much.
Ultimately, I especially wanted more from the planetary horror/the Grey in particular. The cover felt kind of misleading in that way, even though I really like it.

I did like the ending, it felt deserved for the characters. That said, I also wasn’t 100% sure on what really happened? Still, it felt good.

This World is Not Yours is a haunting story of colonization and humanity encountering things which are impossible to control. With a chilling atmosphere and the feel of a Victorian set in space, this book is perfect for anyone looking for a blend of horror and science fiction. Compelling characters with messy, complex relationships underpin the fight against nature, paired well with a government which slowly creeps into the lives of queer characters.

Overall, I highly enjoyed this book, and found its quick pace and morally grey characters a perfect fall read!

Yikes. This was a mess. There were (maybe?) some time jumps in the story? Or maybe it was just super disjointed in addition to being boring? The novella length did this no favors - maybe with some extra pages I could have possibly started to give half a **** about any of these awful characters (?) While the setup was cool and there were a few solidly gross moments, 98% of the book was about Amara being obsessively possessive of Vinh and nothing much happening, so comparing this to an SA Barnes space horror is like comparing Chuck E Cheese to Alinea.

I am always on a lookout for compelling sci fi stories, particularly with threads of horror. Unfortunately this one did not deliver the narrative I was expecting. This one was fine but not as compelled as I hoped.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for a review.

Overall, this was a well written sci-fi short about jealousy that’s preyed upon by a flesh destroying gray mass guarding a distant planet.

I felt that the plot was a bit stretched out and could have worked better as a short story. The first half felt a bit slow and the last third really picked up. I appreciate the build of suspense, but I feel that it dragged on too long and didn’t create an atmosphere that engaged me. The character exploration/development that occurs over a short period of time still manages to get repetitive and I think we could have understood them adequately with less pages for better pacing.

On top of that, I think it was a bit inaccurate to describe it as a “toxic polycule” because only 2 main characters were actually in a relationship, another was a seemingly ace best friend, and the last main character was forced upon them by their government.

Perhaps it’s semantics to contest that description, because it arguably does fit the group, but I think this concept would have been interesting if there was actually more of a mutually desired relationship between these characters because it would have created more tension in the final act (which I still think was the strongest), but I understand the concepts that the author was calling back to earlier in the book with their finale.

Finally, I think seeing more of the “villain” (the gray, although it’s arguably humanity/greed) in action would have been beneficial.

I don’t want to make it sound like I hated this, because I did enjoy the queer representation and the interesting sci-fi-drama concept. I simply think it would have packed a bigger punch as a shorter story, perhaps to be included in a horror anthology.

If I see Tor, I know the book is going to be good. I’ll be honest, this novella started out a bit rough for me. Mainly because I was confused and felt a little disoriented by the jumping around at the beginning. However, as the plot escalated, so did my enjoyment and investment. I found myself really attached to the three main characters, especially Jesse and Amara. That’s a hard thing to achieve in a novella!

I have a couple critiques. Mainly I wish this had been a full novel! There were a bunch of different plot points I wish would have been expanded on, especially Vihn’s leaving at the beginning. I found this work to be fascinating and I wanted to learn more about it beyond the planet.

I can’t wait to see what the author has in store for us in the future!

Thank you to Kemi Ashing-Giwa and Tor via NetGalley for the eARC of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

"This world is as brutal and unforgiving as it is beautiful."

In my neverending quest to find some good sci-fi horror, I came across this one. And I was so excited I stumbled upon it because right in the synopsis it compared it to the space horror novels by S.A. Barnes , novels that I have really enjoyed. However, I didn’t end up loving this novella as much as I thought I would.

I LOVED the concept of this novella though! People fighting for their lives on a planet that is fighting back?? That is just SO cool! But my problem with this book stems from the fact that the horror aspect of this sci-fi horror didn’t really start until about the 51% mark. This book felt a lot more like a domestic drama and that is just NOT what I signed up for. I was wondering if this was my fault for thinking this book was something it wasn’t. But reading back the synopsis, no! I wish it would’ve clarified that the drama played a much bigger role in the novella than is actually mentioned. It was just disappointing because instead of the horror I was expecting, I got jealousy, pettiness, and just non-stop family drama. And the synopsis does mention jealousy and a toxic polycule, which is all well and good. But it’s NOT all well and good when that’s all I got in the first 50% of the freaking book!

And speaking of toxic relationships, good god did I dislike following Vinh and Amara. And the reason why is because we are told SO much that they love each other and this and that, and I just didn’t see it!! Why? Because we were told not shown. Amara may be a biologist, but she had no chemistry with her wife 🫢😆

There was nothing but toxicity and hiding things from one another... it was wild! And their friend Jesse was... weird. I did not understand him or his intent with the girls AT ALL.

All that being said, I did not hate this book. I thought it was fine, if not a bit frustrating. The little horror we got was good, but there was a lot more that could’ve been done with it! There was so much potential there! I also loved the premise of the story and I really liked the concept of the Gray and how this planet was “self-cleansing.” All that was very interesting. But because of all the unexpected domestic drama, I was just kinda hoping the planet with get rid of all the humans by the end because they were annoying 😆

The worldbuilding is strong and, despite my misgivings, I am curious about the wider universe in this one and would be willing to explore more books set there. However, too much time is spent on the drama of the interpersonal relationships.

Read my full review:

https://horrortree.com/epeolatry-book-review-this-world-is-not-yours-by-kemi-ashing-giwa/

This World is Not Yours is a bit of a strange adventure to go on, but it satisfied what I was craving. I have discovered a love for sci-fi horror and tends to be smaller/more niche topic that has me chasing the brilliance of The Luminous Dead and Dead Silence. This title definitely fits into the genre, offering sapphic romantic leads, a creepy unknown, and an eerie awareness of what haunts humanity as a species. I did wish it was a little bit longer, and fleshed out a little bit more to increase the tension in the story. But, it is one I would recommend if you are hunting for your next sci-fi horror kick.

I thought it was a really interesting concept. But the character and world building felt sparse. If it was twice as long and had more time to flesh out the characters I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

While this sci-fi horror novella didn't end up being the book for me, I have no doubt that it's going to find its audience becuase it is incredibly well written with some unique (and horrifying) worldbuilding. For those looking for the kind of xenobiology that will keep you awake at night, and make you grateful that the horrors of our own Earth biology are the only ones we have to deal with, this is going to be 100% your book!

I was hesitant to pick this one up do to the cover looking like it’s AI generated, but the synopsis sounded so intriguing that I had to give it a try! But, sadly I couldn’t get into this one.

This just can’t catch my attention. I’m simultaneously bored and confused. I found so many of the descriptions confusing to the point where I couldn’t keep up with what was going on. The time jumps, switching POVs, and non-linear storytelling also added to that confusion. And It definitely doesn’t feel like horror, but more of a character driven science-fiction novella. And by character driven, I mean nothing sci-fi or horror is happening, it’s just the characters interacting with each other in ways that don’t feel like they’re particularly pushing the story forward.

This was such a great premise. I found the concept of The Gray to be very intriguing. But, I have no desire to pick it back up. I would recommend it to someone who enjoys character driven sci-fi though, just don’t go in expecting horror or any action right away.

Thank you Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own.

So I wouldn’t say that space horror is naturally what I gravitate towards, and honestly probably not space-based science fiction either, but I was promised a toxic polycule and with sapphics, and honestly that’s enough to hook me. All of this is true, and while its trueness to the genre maybe didn’t hook me as much as I wanted, I basically couldn’t stop reading this. I wouldn’t necessarily call it fast-paced for a novella, but it never really stops moving (much like the ominous substance called The Gray that functions as both antagonist and god within this book). I think if you like space horror, you’ll love this, and I think if you’re curious then it’s a great place to start.

Essentially, THIS WORLD IS NOT YOURS follows Amara, Vinh, and Jesse, two scientists and a head of security for a planetary colony with rivals and a hostile planet that cleanses itself while they try to stay something it doesn’t consider a threat. But of course, the colony becomes a threat, and Amara and Vinh’s relationship is made rocky by new mandates and an unstable foundation that fully introduces Jesse, and opens them up for a surprising way to try and somewhat survive. I feel like there’s some great thought about colonizing environments, and the horror of temporality, all in a futuristic space-world that feels far too close to home even when it’s technically so far away.

Toxic polycule indeed. It's an easy to jump into sci-fi, it's honestly more family drama than sci-fi which was wonderful for me. I just wish it was a bit meaty.
Loved the count down with chapters.

This book felt like a fever dream, but not in a good way. There were sections that felt experimental, there were different POV chapters, there was time jumps, all kinds of different writing techniques. But for a book that felt like it should have a lot of focus on the relationships between the three main characters, there just wasn't much there. Yes, there was toxicity, but it never felt like that was explored, just exposed. There was a third wheel/love triangle, but it never said anything beyond implication. And for a book that takes place over a year, relationships stay the same across time jumps. I was also, frankly, shocked by the ending.

A great sci go novel that is equally Paris great plot and unsettling vibes. Can’t wait to read more from this author.

This book has an audience. It was not for me but I will absolutely recommend. I would have liked the option to not rate.. Tor is amazing in finding and publishing unique works and this definitely fits the bill. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to review and recommendations.